Selective locking of input controls of a portable media player

ABSTRACT

A portable media player configured to selectively enable or disable one or more input controls, such as volume controls, is described herein. In some examples, the player contains a physical button or switch that provides for the selective enabling or disabling of input controls. In some examples, the player is configured to dynamically determine when to enable or disable input controls based on information received about the player or characteristics of the player. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/971,058, filed Jan. 8, 2008, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/883,996, filed on Jan. 8, 2007,entitled SELECTIVE LOCKING OF INPUT CONTROLS FOR A PORTABLE MEDIAPLAYER, SUCH AS THE SELECTIVE LOCKING OF VOLUME CONTROLS, which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Portable media players are increasing in popularity. A portable mediaplayer is a transportable device that plays one or more media filetypes, including text, audio, video, graphics, animation, images,interactive, and other media file types.

At times, a user may wish to carry and interact (e.g. listen to music)with a portable media player without carrying the player in his/herhand. Therefore, users often carry portable media players inaccompanying articles, such as in pockets of clothing, handbags,backpacks, holsters, carrying cases, and so on. For example, a user mayplace a portable media player in a pocket in his/her jeans whilelistening to music playing from the player via a set of headphones.

In order to prevent the reception of unwanted inputs being received by aplayer, many players provide a locking mechanism that causes the playerto ignore or otherwise not receive any input commands normally receivedvia external input controls, such as buttons, scroll wheels, touchpadsand so on. Locking a player disables input controls and eliminates thereceipt of inadvertent inputs that affect the playback of the player,such as when the player collides with another article in a pocket orbag. However, many users may be undesirably restricted by current playerlocking mechanisms.

These and other problems exist with respect to portable media players.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating example components of a portablemedia player, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example portable media player,in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3C are block diagrams illustrating an input control used inlocking a portable media player, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine for selectivelyunlocking input controls due to previous detected inputs, in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine for selectivelyunlocking input controls due to characteristics of playing media, inaccordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

A method and system for the selective locking of user controls in aportable media player is described. The system may receive a usercommand to lock the player, such as via a user pushing or sliding abutton or selecting a menu option, and selectively lock one or moreinput controls located at least in part at an external surface of theplayer. In some cases, the system, upon receiving an indication of theuser command, ignores inputs received from a pre-selected set of inputcontrols. For example, the system may ignore all input controls exceptfor the controls that determine the volume of playback of mediacontaining audio information. In some cases, the system, upon receivingan indication of the user selection, ignores inputs received from a setof user-selected input controls. For example, the system may allow usersto pre-select one or more input controls to maintain as active even whenthe player is locked. In addition to selectively locking one or moreinput controls on the player, the system may facilitate the selectivelocking and unlocking of controls on plug-in modules to the player aswell. The selective locking of controls when a player is in a lockedstate, and the unlocking of controls when the player is in an unlockedstate, greatly improves the user experience with a player.

In some embodiments, the system allows volume controls to be used eventhough other controls are disabled when the portable media player is ina locked state. Users may want to raise or lower the volume when othercontrols are disabled, such as controls that affect the playback of thedevice. That way, a user is able to quickly retrieve his/her portablemedia player, adjust the volume, and place the portable media playerback where the player was being stored. The system alleviates thecumbersome experience of first unlocking and later re-locking the playerwhen a user merely wants to adjust the volume. The system isparticularly valuable to users because the desired volume or recordedsound levels may vary significantly between media, and a user mayfrequently find himself/herself changing the sound volume to achieve adesired level.

In some embodiments, the system allows lighting and other indicatorcontrols to be used even though other controls are disabled when theportable media player is in a locked state. For example, a user runningwith a player attached to his/her arm may wish to quickly turn on anindicator such as a backlight to see the time, the status of playback,the status of his/her run (for those players that interact with users insuch a way) or other information, without disrupting media playback orother active applications of the player (such as applications monitoringor collecting data about the user). By permitting an indicator controlto remain enabled, the system allows the user to view information viathe backlight without having to unlock and re-lock the player,inconveniencing the user and possibly altering active applicationsrunning on the player.

The following description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding of, and enabling description for, various embodiments ofthe technology. One skilled in the art will understand that thetechnology may be practiced without many of these details. In someinstances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown ordescribed in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description ofthe embodiments of the technology. It is intended that the terminologyused in the description presented below be interpreted in its broadestreasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with adetailed description of certain embodiments of the technology. Althoughcertain terms may be emphasized below, any terminology intended to beinterpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specificallydefined as such in this Detailed Description section.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating example components of a portablemedia player 100, in accordance with various embodiments. Portable mediaplayer 100 may include an input component 110 that receives user inputfrom one or more input controls, such as buttons, scroll wheels,touchpads, and so on. For example, player 100 may receive an adjustmentto playback volume via input component 110. Portable media player mayalso include an output component 120, such as an audio playback module,a display module, a vibrate module, a light module, and so on, and adata storage module 130. Data storage module 130 may be a magnetic mediadrive, optical media drive, other non-volatile memory, flash memory, andso on, capable of storing audio media, video media, image media, andother media types for playback via output component 120. Player may alsoinclude a processing component 140, a power component 160, and othercomponents 170, such as wireless communication components, telephonecomponents, data and information collection components, playbackmonitoring components, and so on, for the implementation of variousfeatures and functions.

Portable media player 100 may also connect to plug-in modules 180 andother added components. For example, plug-in modules 180 may includemodules that detect location of the player (such as a GPS module),environmental conditions, conditions of a user (such as a heart ratemonitor, pedometer, and so on), and other modules. The portable mediaplayer 100 may control some or all of the functions of the plug-inmodules using input component 110.

Player 100 may also include a lock module 150 that may restrict orignore selected input commands, while continuing to allow certain inputcommands, typical a small subset, received from input controls via theinput component 110. The player, in particular, lock module 150, aloneor in association with other components, may predetermine the inputcontrols to be ignored and/or allowed, or may allow users to select oneor more input controls to be ignored and/or allowed, when the player isplaced into a lock state.

The placement of certain input controls may affect the selection ofwhich controls should be locked (or remain unlocked) during a lockedstate. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example portable mediaplayer 200, in accordance with various embodiments. Player 200 mayinclude one or more output elements housed in a housing, such as anaudio output component 210 (e.g., a headphone jack), and a displayscreen 220. In various embodiments, the housing is palm-sized forportability. Player 200 may also include a locking input control housedin the same housing, such as sliding switch 230. Moving the switch to afirst position selectively disables certain input controls of thedevice, while moving the switch to a second position enables all inputcontrols of the device. Of course, other input controls may be used tolock a device, such as soft-keys, buttons, touchpads, and so on.Furthermore, player 200 may include various input controls, such as atouchpad and/or buttons 240 contained on the same surface as the displayscreen 220, buttons 250 and 260 contained on side a portion of theplayer, button 270 contained on a top portion, and others (such asbuttons or other input controls contained on a lower portion or on areverse or back portion).

Various input controls may be enabled or disabled when the player isplaced into a locked state. For example, input controls 240 may be usedin determining media to playback to a user, while buttons 250 may beused to control the volume of playback. When a user decides to place theplayer 200 in a locked state using control 230, the player may lockbuttons 240 but maintain buttons 250 in an unlocked state. When in thelocked state, the user is thereby able to change the volume of theplayer without having to unlock and re-lock the player. Additionally,the player may choose to enable more than one button or set of buttonsduring a locked state. The player may maintain buttons 250, 260, and 270in an unlocked state while locking input controls 240. Thus, the user isable to perform peripheral operations, such as changing volume,illuminating indicators, and so on, without disrupting the ongoingplayback of the device. For example, the user may press button 260 toilluminate the display and view the song currently being played, withouthaving to first unlock the player to do so. As another example, ifbutton 270 is used to turn the player 200 on and off, the user may usebutton 270 to turn a player off without having to first unlock theplayer to do so.

The determination of which controls are locked or operational when aplayer is in a locked state may be pre-selected by the playermanufacturer. The player may also allow users to determine whichcontrols are selectively enabled when a player is placed into the lockedstate. A user may select these controls during an initial set up ofhis/her player, during soft-key or menu navigation of the player, and soon. The player may also facilitate user selection via media serviceapplications that provide media to the player. The operational controlsmay be selected on an individual basis, or the player may offer a uservarious modes to select from (e.g., “walking,” “working out,”“traveling”), each of which may have a different set of controls thatare enabled in the locked state.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may not be necessary tolock certain input controls because of the construction of the controlsor the placement of the controls. Buttons 250, 260 and/or 270 may beflush with the surface, and may contain tactile elements to facilitate auser to blindly find the buttons. Locating the buttons on a portion awayfrom the display, or flush to the surface, may prevent many inadvertentpushes when player 200 is stored in a pocket, case, or bag.Additionally, buttons 250, 260, 270 may be less sensitive to input,further preventing inadvertent receipt of input by the player.

In some embodiments, the player may provide enhanced volume-controlfunctionality to selected buttons, such as buttons 250, 260, 270. Forexample, a short press of a button associated with increasing volume mayincrementally lower the volume, while depressing and holding the buttonfor a certain time may mute the player. Additionally, while a quickpress of a button associated with increasing volume may incrementallyincrease the volume, depressing and holding the button for a certaintime may move the player to a pre-set volume or to full volume. Theplayer may implement such volume-control functionality in conjunctionwith the selective locking of input controls. For example, there may beoccasions when unlocked volume controls are inadvertently pressed,causing the player to switch to a volume that is louder than desired bya user. Should this happen, the volume-control functionality enables theuser to hold down the decreasing volume control to quickly mute thedevice and remedy the situation.

In some cases, the player may wish to provide both a selectively-lockedstate as well as a fully-locked state. The player may enable users tochoose between a fully-locked state, where all input controls aredisabled, and a selectively-locked state, where some input controls aredisabled, or an unlocked state. The player may enable users to selectthe state, using buttons, sliding mechanisms, soft-keys, and so on. Forexample, FIGS. 3A-3C are block diagrams illustrating an input control230 used in locking a portable media player, in accordance with variousembodiments. In FIG. 3A, a sliding mechanism 340 is in position A,placing the player in an unlocked state 310 In FIG. 3B, the slidingmechanism 340 has been moved to position B, placing the player in aselectively-locked state 320. In FIG. 3C, the sliding mechanism has beenmoved to position C, placing the player in a fully-locked state 330where all input controls are disabled. Thus, the player provides userswith options to quickly and easily set a player into a locked orselectively-locked state.

Alternatively, the player may predictively and automatically select afully-locked state, selectively-locked state, or unlocked state, basedon a current use of the player. For example, the player may switch to aselectively-locked state if a user has not used touchpad and/or buttons240 for a certain period of time.

In addition to the input control 230 described herein, other mechanismsmay be configured to cause the portable media player 100 to selectivelydisable or enable certain input controls. In some cases, the player mayunlock one or more locked input controls upon detection of previousinput patterns. Referring to FIG. 4, a flow diagram illustrating aroutine 400 for selectively unlocking input controls due to previousdetected inputs, in accordance with various embodiments, is shown. Inoperation 410, the player receives a plurality of input commands from auser of a portable media player 100. For example, the player may be in afully locked state, and the user may unlock the player and reduce thevolume of playback, and then relock the player. The user maysubsequently unlock the player and increase the volume of playback, andthen relock the player.

In operation 420, the player determines a pattern of received inputcommands. For example, the player may identify that the most recentinput commands have been unlock, reduce volume, relock, and unlock,increase volume, relock. In operation 430, the player analyzes thedetermined pattern in view of stored patterns, e.g. determining whetherthe pattern matches or partially or fully matches a stored pattern. Forexample, the player looks to a database of possible input commandpatterns, and determines that the identified pattern in operation 420matches a similar pattern stored in a database in the player. Whatconstitutes matching may be application dependent. Additionally, theplayer may determine that the identified pattern contains a similarpattern (for example, the database may have a pattern of “relock,unlock”) stored in the database. The player may identify patterns basedon input commands, timing of commands, relative position of commands,and so on.

When the player matches the identified pattern, routine 400 proceeds tooperation 440, else routine 400 ends. In operation 440, the playerselectively enables input controls related to the matched pattern. Inthis example, the player enables the volume controls of the player 100,as the player has determined that the input commands received from theuser relate to use of volume controls. Optionally, the player mayprovide an indication to the user that the input controls are enabled.For example, the player may send an audio message to the user, or maydisplay an indication on a display of the player, that the volumecontrols have been unlocked.

Routine 400 may also facilitate the selective disabling of inputcontrols on a portable media player 100. The player may receive one ormore input commands related to inadvertent input commands, and lock theplayer after receiving such commands. For example, the player mayreceive an input command to increase the volume of the player, followedshortly thereafter by an input command to reduce the volume of theplayer. The player may identify a pattern of “increase volume, decreasevolume” within a certain time period, and match that pattern with astored pattern that relates to the selective locking of the volumecontrols. The player may then disable the volume controls of the playerand provide an indication to the user that the volume controls aredisabled.

Routine 400 may apply to input controls that receive input commandsrelated to changing multiple functions of a portable media player. Forexample, many players include a touchpad or scroll wheel that receiveinput commands related to increasing or reducing the volume of theplayer (such as by sliding a finger across or around the touchpad) andrelate to navigating a playback menu (such as by pressing down on aportion of the touchpad). In these cases, routine 400 may receive inputcommands that indicate inadvertent sliding of the touchpad, match thesecommands to a stored pattern, and disable any input commands received atthe touchpad due to the sliding mechanism. Thus, the player is able toselectively and dynamically disable some commands received by an inputcommand that may be inadvertent while enabling other input commands thatare rarely inadvertently received.

In addition to dynamically enabling/disabling input controls based onpreviously received commands, the player may also facilitate the dynamicenabling/disabling of input commands based on characteristics ofplayback of media from the device. Referring to FIG. 5, a flow diagramillustrating a routine 500 for selectively unlocking input controls dueto characteristics of playing media, in accordance with variousembodiments, is shown.

In operation 510, the player identifies one or more playbackcharacteristics related to media playing on a portable media player 100.For example, the player identifies that the media player has begunplaying a song that is 50 percent louder than the previously playedsong. In operation 520, if the player determines that one or more inputcontrols related to the identified playback characteristics aredisabled, routine 500 proceeds to operation 530, else routine 500 ends.

In operation 530, the player enables the related player controls. Forexample, the player enables the input control related to volume (or,perhaps only the input control related to reducing volume). The playermay enable the input control until a user provides an input command (inthis case, reduces the volume of the player using the control) and thendisable the control. Thus, the player may be able to anticipate theneeds of users of the portable media player, and enable or disable inputcontrols in advance of those needs.

The above detailed description of the technology is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise form disclosedabove. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the technologyare described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the technology, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processesor blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments mayperform routines having operations, or employ players having blocks, ina different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved,added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Also, while processes orblocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processesor blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed atdifferent times. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented ina variety of different ways.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments ofthe invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,but that various modifications may be made without deviating from thespirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is notlimited except as by the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a selection input to receive individual selections of one or more control components out of a plurality of control components of the apparatus during a control component configuration for an individual operational mode of a plurality of operational modes, the individual selections of the one or more control components to remain enabled when the apparatus is in a locked state during the individual operational mode such that the apparatus is to continue to be able to receive input from the individual selections of the one or more control components when the apparatus is in the locked state during the individual operational mode and not able to receive input from the individual selections of the one or more control components when the apparatus is in the locked state during another individual operational mode of the plurality of operational modes; a first control component of the plurality of control components; a second control component of the plurality of control components; and a control selection component to cause the apparatus to be switched between a locked state and an unlocked state upon activation of the control selection component, wherein: while the apparatus is in the locked state during the individual operational mode with the first control component having been selected via the selection input, but not the second control component, the apparatus is prevented from acting on any received input from the second control component but is allowed to act on any received input from the first control component, while the apparatus is in the locked state during the other individual operational mode with the first control component having been selected via the selection input, but not the second control component, the apparatus is prevented from acting on any received input from the first control component and from the second control component, and while the apparatus is in the unlocked state, the apparatus is allowed to act on any received input from the first control component and from the second control component, regardless of whether the first or second control component has been selected via the selection input.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a media playback component to selectively play one or more media files accessible by the apparatus.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first control component is to receive input to modify a volume level associated with a selective play of the one or more media files.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the selection input is to receive input identifying the individual operational mode and to initiate the control component configuration for the individual operational mode.
 5. An apparatus, comprising: one or more buttons to receive input from a user; a selection input to receive, from the user during configuration of an individual operational mode of a plurality of operational modes, an individual selection of a set of buttons button of the one or more buttons, wherein the selection of the set of buttons is for continued receipt of input via the selected set of buttons when the apparatus is in a locked state and in the individual operational mode, wherein, in the locked state during the individual operational mode, the apparatus is to: act on any received input from the selected set of buttons; and prevent action on any received input from unselected ones of the one or more buttons; and wherein, in the locked state during another individual operational mode of the plurality of operational modes, the apparatus is to: prevent action on any received input from the selected set of buttons; and prevent action on any received input from unselected ones of the one or more buttons; and an input lock controller to place the apparatus in the locked state when the input lock controller is selected by the user.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: an audio playback component to control output of audio of stored media files to the user; and a volume component, coupled to the audio playback component, to adjust a loudness of the presented audio, wherein the volume component is controlled by the one or more buttons.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a switch, wherein the input lock controller is selected by the user via the switch.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the input lock controller is to receive selection by the apparatus receiving a pattern of inputs from the user via the one or more buttons.
 9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the selection input is to receive the selection of the selected button during an initial setup of the apparatus.
 10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the selection input is to receive input from the user identifying the individual operational mode and to initiate the configuration of the individual operational mode.
 11. A method of controlling an apparatus, the method comprising: receiving, by the apparatus during a setup procedure for a first operational mode of a plurality of operational modes, an individual selection of a first input component out of a plurality of input components of the apparatus, wherein the selected first input component is an input component to continue to act on received input when the apparatus is placed in a locked state during the first operational mode; receiving, by the apparatus during a setup procedure for a second operational mode of the plurality of operational modes, an individual selection of a second input component out of the plurality of input components of the apparatus, wherein the selected second input component is an input component to continue to act on received input when the apparatus is placed in a locked state during the second operational mode; receiving, by the apparatus, an indication to place the apparatus in the locked state; placing, by the apparatus, the apparatus in the locked state by: disabling, by the apparatus, the apparatus from acting on any received input from unselected input components of the plurality of input components for a current operational mode of the apparatus; receiving, by the apparatus, input from a user at the first input component or at the second input component of the apparatus while the apparatus is in the locked state; performing, by the apparatus, at least one action based on the received input at the first input component while the apparatus is in the locked state and when the current operational mode is the first operational mode; and performing, by the apparatus, at least one action based on the received input at the second input component while the apparatus is in the locked state and when the current operational mode is the second operational mode.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the apparatus is a portable media player and a functionality comprises a playback volume of the portable media player or lighting of a screen of the portable media player.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the apparatus setup procedure is to take place during an initial setup of the apparatus or after the initial setup of the apparatus.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the individual selection of the first input component comprises receiving input from the user identifying the first operational mode and to start the setup procedure for the first operational mode, and wherein receiving the individual selection of the second input component comprises receiving input from the user identifying the second operational mode and to start the setup procedure for the second operational mode.
 15. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second control component is to receive input to change a status of a selective play of the one or more media files.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control component configuration is to take place during an initial setup of the apparatus or after the initial setup of the apparatus.
 17. An apparatus, comprising: an input system to: receive, for configuration of a first mode of operation, individual selections of one or more first control components out of a plurality of control components of the apparatus, the selected one or more first control components to remain enabled when the apparatus is placed in a locked state such that the apparatus is to continue to receive input from the selected one or more first control components when the apparatus is in the locked state during the first mode of operation while unselected ones of the plurality of control components are disabled when the apparatus is in the locked state, receive, for configuration of a second mode of operation, individual selections of one or more second control components out of the plurality of control components of the apparatus, the selected one or more second control components to remain enabled when the apparatus is in the locked state such that the apparatus is to continue to receive input from the selected one or more second control components when the apparatus is in the locked state during the second mode of operation while unselected ones of the plurality of control components are disabled when the apparatus is in the locked state, wherein the first mode of operation is different than the second mode of operation, and receive a mode of operation selection to activate the first mode of operation or the second mode of operation; and a locking system to cause the apparatus to be placed in the locked state in response to receipt of a locking input and placed in an unlocked state in response to receipt of an unlocking input.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the locking system comprises a mechanical switch, wherein the locking system is to receive the locking input and the unlocking input via manipulation of the mechanical switch.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein receipt of the locking input and the unlocking input is based on a pattern of received input commands from one or more buttons or from one or more touch inputs.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the configuration of the first mode of operation or the configuration of the second mode of operation is to take place during an initial setup of the apparatus or after the initial setup of the apparatus. 